When you go on a diet, the first thing you do is list all of the foods you can no longer eat. Okay, the first thing you do is eat all of the foods you can no longer eat, but then you make the list. As you do, sorrow and dread build. You realize how many of life’s little indulgences you can no longer enjoy. Chocolates, sweets, salts, fats – they’re all gone. You itch to keep just one, but you don’t. The only way you can lose weight and maintain your diet is if you eliminate the devil-like temptations from your life. You will no longer so much as think about a single one, and you will succeed. It’s the only way. Right?

Nope. That line of thinking is actually complete hogwash. A recent study found that women who suppressed their desires for chocolate ended up eating more. In fact, they ate 50 percent more. Those who talked about their chocolate love had an average of five pieces when offered the candy, whereas the silenced had at least eight. Researchers attribute this to the rebound effect. When a woman (it’s not as true of men) attempts to fully eradicate a substance from her life, that substance develops a lure, a power that calls to her relentlessly. She spends hours trying to dampen the desire, but it grows. Finally, she caves. Rather than having a piece of candy, as she would have at the craving’s onset, she has the bag. Her diet is ruined.

The only way to avoid this is to not ban foods from your life. You should recognize your cravings and, every once in a while, give in to them. Have a Hershey Kiss. Also, determine why you’re pining for a particular food. You may simply want chocolate, or it may be more complex. You may need something, a nutrient that your diet is lacking. Often, chocolate-longing is a sign that your body needs magnesium. You can take care of that by having some nuts, seeds or legumes, all of which are delightfully healthy choices. If that doesn’t work, then, as I said, have the Hershey Kiss. It won’t destroy your diet; in the end, it will probably help it.